SCIPAB?
Recently I stumbled on SCIPAB, directly relating to sprint retrospectives however, it really can be used for communicating effectively in any situation. While not being solely created for agile use, it’s effectiveness in agile should not be missed. Mandel Communications touts this tool as being able to “improve how your talent communicates, collaborates, and gets work done”. Coaching teams in using this approach prevents confusion, inspires voices, and increases overall efficiency when it matters most. Not only in voice, but via email as well – how many times a day do you waste time by simply asking for more information?
Six steps to SCIPAB:
- Situation – Straight forward facts about the situation, the current state.
- Complication – Pressures, issues, changes, demands – what problems arise?
- Implication – What are the effects of not acting on the issues presented in the complication.
- Position – State what needs to be done! It is short, and strategic.
- Action – What action do you want your listener/s to take. Help them understand what they can, or need, to do.
- Benefit – Outline what are the effects of the listeners action, in a clear, and quantifiable way.
Use in Sprint Retrospective – When Communicating is Critical
Take for instance, you jump into a sprint retrospective and the dev team has a very important issue to bring up. Most commonly, the product owner was absent and affected the team in big ways. Using the above outline, following each step, will leave no stone un-turned in how this affected the team’s output, and effectiveness, by using quantifiable data, and outlining the clear action needed and the team benefit. Using this method also puts emphasis on the importance of the issue itself. Without clearly communicating the problem, the effects, the needed solution, and benefits, the issue can potentially be written off.
Coaching your entire team, and even your organization, on how to use this approach could save countless hours, and increase efficiency and output. While the most common aplication being a proper presentation, it’s purpose and principles can easily be translated to all communication – vocal and digital.